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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. game — wild animals
  7. last — final
  8. land — ground
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. last — finally
  12. wind — moving air
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. club — a group
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — a country
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. last — to go on
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com